Are you familiar with Critical Race Theory? If you're not, I'd recommend two books on this topic. One by Voddie Baucham titled Faultlines and the other by Owen Stachan titled Christianity and Wokeness. CRT is something that we need to become familiar with as believers because it is not only prevalent in the workplace, your community and the public school you send your children to, but it's in the church!
What is CRT? In February, I interviewed Samuel Sey on this topic. He has spent considerable time researching it, and this is what he has to say about CRT. He writes, "Critical Race Theory is essentially a race-centric version of marxism and post-modernism. Critical race theory suggests the essential conflict in society is racism. It suggests white people (and Western nations) oppress non-white people, especially black people. And the only possible way to limit or end that oppression is to change our legal system and culture into an 'anti-racist' system, that would discriminate against white people in order to create 'equity' (or equality of outcome) for non-white and especially black people". There is an aggressive attempt to teach that being white is something to be ashamed of because white people are inherently and often unaware racists. Those who are white have a privileged status over those of other ethnicities. You have heard of this referred to as "white supremacy." It's taught in schools all across Canada, and it's why corporations structure their hiring practices to ensure the most diverse population – regardless if they aren't the most qualified. That same mentality has crept into the church and has even been promoted by people like Matt Chandler (here, here and here). This Easter season, there has been another visible example of CRT in the church. I use the word "church" here lightly because the church involved is the First United Church of Oak Park in Chicago. If you know anything about the united church, they have rejected the gospel and have embraced liberal doctrine and social justice. So what I'll say next shouldn't be a surprise. For lent, they decided to "Fast from Whiteness." This was demonstrated by abstaining from performing hymns composed or written by white musicians and replacing them with music and liturgy written by Black People, Indigenous People, and People of Colour. God created diversity. And diversity is a beautiful thing. In fact, in heaven we will worship with people of all ethnicities (Rev. 7:9-10). Yet, what we have here is an intentional "fasting from whiteness" informed and motivated by CRT. During this season of lent, songs and liturgy was chosen strictly based on the skin colour of those who come from oppressed ethnic groups. As I reflect on this event, I'm torn on what I want to tackle. Part of me wants to stop and make a case for whether Lent (a tradition formalized in 325 AD after the Council of Nicea) is biblical and then consider what we should fast from if it is biblical. Yet, another part wants me to take this event as an opportunity to explore how we should determine what songs we should use during corporate worship. Sometimes it's difficult for me to know what to tackle in a current event like this. The issue that is more pressing here, and one which we see in other churches, is the embracing of CRT and other false ideologies when it comes to making decisions regarding worship in the church. When it comes to choosing music or liturgy, we cannot choose based on the colour of one's skin. That is the sin of partiality that is forbidden in scripture (James 2:1-13). That goes for any decision that is made based on preferential treatment. So how should we choose what music we should use for corporate worship? There are different approaches that people take. Here are some that I've thought of.
I'm sure you can think of others. I've been guilty of employing all these methods at some point in my ministry. And as I reflect on them, they all share something in common - self. The determining factor really that drove these methods was what I wanted out of a corporate worship meeting, whether that was to elicit a feeling in myself or others, to sing songs that I loved, to keep others happy, or to try to look like I had a plan as I quickly gathered some songs together. Worship is not about us. It is about God. Everything we do, including corporate singing, is to be done to the glory of God (1 Cor. 10:31). But he is not only the object of worship - he is the conductor too. He is the one who directs and determines how we are to worship. That truth is revealed throughout scripture in the fact that God did not accept the worship of those who did not offer what He had prescribed. Song choice may seem significant to some and not significant to others. Yet, if God is the conductor of worship, and singing is an act of worship, it must be important to God. So how should we choose the songs we sing in corporate worship? We need the bible, not culture, to inform us. The book of Psalms was the prayer and songbook of the church. As you read through them, you notice some common characteristics of the songs sung throughout God's people's history. Things we should look for in the music that we pick today.
Of course, the book of Psalms is not the only place where the songs are contained. Throughout the Old and New Testaments, there are songs that God's people sung corporately. Philippians 2 contains one of them. And when you examine the hymn, you find that it shares the same commonalities that I've mentioned above, except that there is an added focus, especially on Jesus. Of course, other things should be considered when choosing music for corporate worship, such as whether it can be sung corporately. Though we have the freedom to enjoy different styles of music, some simply cannot be done as a group. The hymn writers wrote with the church in mind; many contemporary artists write with individuals in mind. However, there has been significant growth in solid theologically rich songs for corporate worship over the past years with such groups as CityAlight, Sovereign Grace and The Gettys. So how do we choose music? The colour of a person's skin cannot determine whether a song is fit for corporate worship because this is not a scriptural practice. Nowhere do you see this as a determining factor for anything in worship. To choose based on skin colour is to not simply be led by CRT but engage in the sin of partiality. So how should we determine what songs to sing in the church gathering? Simply put, we must examine the content of the song and the response that it leads to. If in doubt, sing scripture and the psalms!
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AuthorHello! I'm glad you found my blog. My name is David Hanson, and I am a concerned Christian who desires for the church of North America to become aware and begin to think biblically of what is happening around them in society. It's time for the church to awake and speak into the current events of the day. We alone have the truth to navigate life effectively. That truth is the Word of God. Archives
May 2022
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